Up Helly Aa 2027
Shetland’s great fire festival
Up Helly Aa is Lerwick’s major fire festival and one of the best-known celebrations in the Shetland Islands. The 2027 edition will take place on Tuesday, January 26, with a torchlit procession through Lerwick culminating in the ceremonial burning of a replica Viking galley, followed by celebrations through the night.
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About the Event
Up Helly Aa is an annual tradition in Lerwick, in the Shetland Islands, inspired by the region’s Norse heritage. The festival culminates in a torchlit procession and the burning of a galley, a ceremony that has become the most recognizable image of this winter celebration.
Torchlit procession
Groups of participants known as guizers take part in a torchlit procession through Lerwick. The procession is one of the central moments of the festival and brings participants and spectators together in the town’s streets.
The galley burning
The procession culminates in the ceremonial burning of a replica Viking ship. The ritual reflects the festival’s connection to Shetland’s Norse heritage.
The 2027 edition
The Lerwick edition will take place on Tuesday, January 26, 2027, the last Tuesday of January according to the festival’s annual tradition.
When it starts
Highlights
January 26, 2027
Torchlit procession
Ceremonial galley burning